The Whole Internet Is Rallying Behind Kirby, the Smash Bros Savior

Nintendo Directs have been taking increasingly dark turns recently - straight-up murdering a bunch of characters in the initial Smash Bros. Ultimate reveal and REALLY going all in on killing Luigi, but the final Nintendo Direct for Smash Bros. Ultimate took everything to the absolute limit by killing off LITERALLY EVERY SINGLE SMASH BROS. CHARACTER...

EXCEPT KIRBY.

That's right, the lil pink fluff-ball whom enjoys to eat was the sole survivor of a galaxy-wide extra-dimensional genocide, thanks to some sweet maneuvering on his Warp Star. Everyone else? DEAD....and their bodies/souls corrupted and replaced by some kind of army of doppelgangers who Kirby has to battle to save the souls of his friends:

While the rest of the Nintendo Direct was fun (Sakurai knows exactly how to play his audience) and had some solid reveals (Piranha Plant! Why not?), this ending bit really kicked things into high gear and presented us with something wildly unexpected - a story mode in Smash that seemed...actually cool? Check out the cinematic, which even has a nice anime song to go along with it:

And unrelated, but it's pretty great how some of the characters try to fight the extra-dimensional beams of pure energy murdering everything in their wake - trying to shoot it, trying to breathe fire at it, and then Wii Fit Trainer trying to yoga-pose herself to safety?

But let's get down to business (to defeat the...hands) - Kirby is the main character of Smash Bros. Ultimate (basically). Although the trailer does make it seem that you can play as other characters (likely after defeating their doppelgangers), the basic gist is that the fate of existence as we know it falls on Kirby's shoulders.

...or, uh, whatever Kirby has instead of shoulders.

And as a lot of people are pointing out - this kind of makes a lot of sense that Kirby would be the last puffball standing, even while extremely-powerful beings like Bayonetta and Sonic perished. Kirby fights cosmic gods and eldritch nightmares ALL THE TIME - if anyone's equipped to stop these unknowable tendrils of energy and death capable of twisting the souls of the living, it's Kirby.

It's really an exciting time to be a Smash fan - story mode looks cool, we finally have Ridley in the game, and Kirby is finally getting the respect he deserves. The pinkest puffball (sorry Jigglypuff) will save us all.